Foundation

On November 20th, the Holy Father Benedict XVI, during a consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica, gave 24 birettas to the new Cardinals. Among the Cardinals there was the Archbishop of Warsaw, Kazimierz Nycz.

Currently there are 203 Cardinals in the Catholic Church; 121 of them are eligible to vote in a conclave. During the ceremony, each Cardinal swore the loyalty and obedience oath to the Holy See after which they received birettas and the Cardinal’s insignia.

I was born on February 13, 1978 in a “typical” family in the former Soviet Union. My Mother and Father spent their youth in a boarding school. They met in a boarding school and got married over there. In my family, nobody spoke about God, simply because nobody ever told my parents about God. My Grandma from my Mother’s side was brought up in Eastern Ukraine; during the Great Famine-Genocide in Soviet Ukraine in 1932-1933, she lost all her family (father, mother, two sisters and a brother) and since she was 8-years old, she lived in an orphanage. My Grandma never received any religious education, so she could not teach my Mother about God. My Father had a large family; Grandparents from my Father’s side had seventeen children. Also, in my Father’s family religion did not exist.

Helen F. Boehm died recently in Palm Beach at the age of 90. She has been a wonderful benefactor of the Vatican Museums and of the educational activities of the John Paul II Foundation. A burial Mass was celebrated for her at her old parish church of the Sacred Heart in Trenton, New Jersey, where she was buried next to her late husband.

Helen was a distinguished socialite of Palm Beach. Her heart constantly beat a proud and wonderful Catholic Faith. She was a benefactor of many Catholic, cultural, educational and charitable activities.

Alex Chiaro, Honorary Consul of Italy in Philadelphia, has recently been awarded a Humanitarian Award by the Sons of Italy (Filitalia) for his outstanding, charitable and religious activities. He has also been a long-standing friend and benefactor of the John Paul II Foundation in Rome. We are proud of Alex and his achievements and wish him and his entire family our best.

Our Foundation, in response to an invitation from Cardinal S.Dziwisz and the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, got involved in this year’s celebration of the Pope John Paul II Days. It was the 5th edition of the scientific and cultural events held from November 3-5, 2010, which were prepared by various schools and universities of Krakow and Malopolska. The Foundation was represented by the Center for Research and Documentation of the Pontificate of John Paul II in Rome. A special inauguration was held in the morning hours on November 4th in the assembly hall of the AGH University of Science and Technology.